Inevitably, after each new DVD column appears, I get angry e-mails asking why I didn’t cover this title or that title. I am sent a fair sampling of DVDs for review, but there are numerous studios that have never sent me a DVD, and that probably won’t change any time soon. I review things as quickly as I see them, and I’m not always interested in just watching the titles that were released on a particular Tuesday. I love to put together double or triple features according to theme, and I love seeing how films play when you put them together like that. I have one entire bookshelf of DVDs I haven’t seen yet that I constantly chip away at. This isn’t meant to be a one-stop source for news about what’s coming out. I wholeheartedly recommend The Digital Bits or DVD Talk or DVD File or DVD Answers if you’re looking for lists of what’s coming out timed exactly to the release. They’re all excellent websites that are far more comprehensive than my one li’l ol’ column. This is just meant to be a collection of pieces about the ongoing film festival that is my living room.

Because I don’t always open things the moment they get here, I’ve noticed a more and more frustrating issue that I have to deal with: defective discs.

It’s like gambling at this point. It’s all about the percentages. I buy enough movies that it’s inevitable some of them aren’t going to work. Same thing with review discs. Frequently, I get test copies that are early pressings, so it’s understandable some of them might be a wee bit buggy. What confounds me is when I open one that’s months old and have trouble returning it, or when I run into a problem that seems to effect a whole pressing of something. Such was the case with Fox’s recent release of MILLENNIUM: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON. I ran into serious glitches on at least one episode on every disc in the box. Looking at the surfaces of the discs, they were all seriously scratched.

I bought the set at Amoeba Records in Hollywood, so I returned it and was given a new box in exchange. No problem. Unfortunately, when I opened that one, I encountered the exact same set of problems. And these were both new sets, still sealed. Every single disc in those factory-sealed packages were scratched, impossible to play for at least one out of the four episodes per disc. This time, when I went back to Amoeba, I made them open the third (and fourth) boxes in front of me, to no avail. It looked like some piece of machinery at the pressing plant had been specially designed to fuck the discs up before they were sent out.

Oddly, though, I haven’t found a single report about this online. Not one review that mentions it. Could this bad batch somehow be limited to one store? Or has anyone else had this problem? I finally just returned it for store credit and gave up on seeing the series again. If you’ve had a similar problem with this or any title, let me know... I’m curious.

In the meantime, there’s a lot of ground to cover this week, so let’s jump right into the reviews. As always, I’ve got my entire DVD collection set up at DVD Aficionado, a great site that I’ve enjoyed working with. With very few exceptions, I’ve been able to find all my titles in their archives. You can check it out right here if you’re curious... just make sure to hit ALL OWNED for the full category-free rundown. And I’ve made sure to point out what was purchased, what was sent as a screener, and what was a gift, since so many of your e-mails seemed to think that was so urgently important.

When I went to the Buena Vista Home Entertainment event a few weeks ago, this was the title Kevin Smith was obviously most invested in, and seeing the disc, it’s obvious why. This is a celebration of Kevin’s roots, a look back at the thing that started everything else in his career. It’s also one of the most inspirational looks at low-budget filmmaking since Robert Rodriguez’s REBEL WITHOUT A CREW. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if this became the thing that sets off a whole new batch of indie voices in the years ahead.

Miramax has packed these three discs full, so it’s worth picking up even if you already have the film on DVD. The first disc should look familiar. It’s the film you’ve seen before (although it’s a nice new transfer of it) along with the old audio commentary. You know... the one where they’re on the set of MALLRATS and Mewes falls asleep under the editing console. I’m glad they preserved this one, because it’s a record of a particular era in Smith’s development. The rest of the disc has some great stuff on it, like the animated segment, “CLERKS: THE LOST SCENE,” a music video, some funny MTV spots, new intros to the restoration, and audition tapes for the film. Disc Two is the original cut of the film, the one that first caught John Pierson’s attention, and it’s nice to see what a big impact a few small specific changes can have on a film’s overall effectiveness. The new commentary track here is loads of fun with Smith, Brian O’Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Scott Mosier, and Jason Mewes all taking part. They are different people now, a decade down the road, and comparing this to the other commentary is fascinating.

What really makes this set special is disc three and the documentary “Snowball Effect: The Story Of CLERKS.” Plain and simple, it’s a great film in its own right, enormously entertaining and brutally honest. The film traces Smith from childhood to the release of CLERKS, and you can see just how he became the person he is. Smith can make the most innocuous biographical detail hilarious, as in “My brother is three years older than I am. To the day. My sister is five years older than me to the week. So we figured out when we were all fairly young than our parents really liked to fuck in November.” It’s hard not to like Smith and Mosier as you watch the film. These aren’t guys who got handed their careers on silver platters. They made their luck. They put their balls on the block and were rewarded for it. I’m also impressed by how many of Smith’s friends from the pre-CLERKS era show up in the documentary, and how many of them he’s helped since his success. He’s always seemed to be a well-grounded guy, but this documentary really drives the point home. It’s feature-length, but there are lots of outtakes and extras as well, all of them equally interesting.

There’s a 10th anniversary Q&A that was filmed at the Arclight that made me laugh several times, highlighting that odd mix of antagonism and adoration that Smith and his fanbase share. All of the articles referenced in “Snowball Effect” are included on the disc, and not just the ones that are about Smith, but also the ones that inspired him. In a way, I’m sure I’m preaching to the converted here, and the most rabid View Askew fans have already purchased this one, but if you’re curious and not sure if the price justifies picking up a film you’re this familiar with, it is. This is one of the most overstuffed and enjoyable DVD packages so far this year.

I equally adore the final FUTURAMA box set, and it makes me sad to realize that’s it. That’s all we get. Fox killed this show waaaaaay too early, and as I rewatch these episodes or see many of them for the first time (thanks, NFL), I’m struck by just how rich a world Matt Groening and David X. Cohen created. This show would have run for 30 seasons in a perfect world. They had all of SF to draw upon in creating new episodes and new characters, and I don’t think any comedy attempt at the genre has ever been this successful with the possible exception of THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY. Those 18 episodes prove that FUTURAMA still had plenty of life in it. In fact, there were story threads that they had set up in the first season that were just starting to pay off. I love the characters on this show, and I loved the way they could do a completely crazy and surreal episode (“Bender Should Not Be Allowed On TV” or “Less Than Hero”) just as easily as they could do an unabashedly sentimental one (“Leela’s Homeworld” or “Jurassic Bark”). This may be considered blasphemous, but I actually prefer FUTURAMA to THE SIMPSONS, all things considered. It just speaks directly to my inner nerd.

The greatest thing about these DVDs is the audio commentary over every single episode. In some cases, they’re more entertaining than the already-enormously entertaining episodes themselves. This is a smart and funny group of people, and they obviously enjoy spending time together and revisiting the show. Billy West gets my vote as one of the funniest men alive, always hilarious and sharp no matter what’s being discussed. David X. Cohen may sound like the Comic Book Guy, but he’s justifiably proud of his show, and he always manages to balance the informative with the entertaining, steering the commentaries without overpowering them. I mourn the end of this show, but I commend Fox for at least doing such a nice job in preserving them. All glory to the Hypno-Toad, now and forever.

A show that never truly seems to die is COLUMBO. As long as I’ve been alive, Peter Falk’s been playing this character on TV, and it’s always been the dramatic equivalent of comfort food for me. I know what I’m going to get when I put on a COLUMBO episode, and I’m never disappointed. Now Universal’s gone back to the very start to release the first nine episodes of COLUMBO in a box set, including “Murder By The Book,” directed by Steven Spielberg. Going back to the roots of the character, what is most impressive is realizing just how firmly set in stone Peter Falk’s iconic performance has been since day one. When you watch “Prescription: Murder,” which was a play before it was a TV movie, it’s the same Columbo you see now. Rumpled raincoat, omnipresent cigar, that deceptively befuddled manner that always makes the bad guy think he’s going to get away with something. There are no extras on the discs, but they’re beautifully preserved prints, and they look and sound great. There are some particular highlights here, like “Ransom For A Dead Man,” Spielberg’s episode, or “Suitable For Framing,” but honestly... every episode is fun. Leslie Neilsen, Roddy McDowall, Forrest Tucker, Robert Culp, Eddie Albert, and Ray Milland all show up in these episodes, but the reason to tune in remains the same, week after week, year after year, and decade after decade. It’s no mystery why COLUMBO has lasted as long as it has.

I picked up the Alias Third Season DVD a few days ago and it's very nice. I was one who despised the season when it aired but found myself pleasently enjoying these episodes back to back (as Herc mentioned). However, there is no excuse for the finale. It was a horrible episode that was rushed filming-wise and edited at the last minute to completely change the cliffhanger which was extremely anti-climatic. I heard the original cliff-hanger (at least in the writing phase) was Vaughn, Syd, and Jack climbing a moutain and something happening which would lead to Syd having to choose between cutting Jack or Vaughn's rope to lose the weight. Even that (as cliche as it is) would have been better. Oh, well. I do agree on David Cronenberg. He's a genius in his arc. Imagine he and Marshall together in the same room. Apparently, it wasn't particulary fun for him to film, so despite his "apparent" death by OD, it's unlikely we'll see him again. Oh and Herc- what'chu talkin' bout? No one, especially not Isabella, will ever compare to the marvelous wonder of Lena in season 2.

I have a 400-strong collection of DVDs, and apart from a screwed-up Pearl Harbour (which is probably a blessing in disguise), the only problems I had were with Buffy Season 3. The first box I received had serious scratches on every disc, rendering them unplayable. I returned them to the (online) supplier, and received a replacement within a few days. Same thing again - note each time the box was fully sealed and unatmpered-with. Fortunately, the third set was fine. Looks like Fox may be using a dubous duplicator....

Jessica Alba nude for SIN CITY and FANTASTIC FOUR! Badly PhotoShopped cut and pastes of 'Alias' snatch! Harry splicing himself into the special edition 'DVDA" version of 'Brother Bear"!
Not that I'm complaining..I'd bang kittens against a brick wall to see that.

Jurassic Park's ending was great - it was one of those things that is quite obviously designed to make the audience go "awww", like you said, but I reckon that writers were fully aware of that - it's just one of those little winks, y'know? And I don't think it's fair to compare Simpsons series 5 with Futurama series 5 - they were written in completely different times, with different aims. Then again, by the same logic it's unfair to compare current Simpsons with Futurama, seeing as how Simpsons basically only exists now because of its history, and has no other aim or purpose

"Futurama" was fresh and exciting while "The Simpsons" was entering a jaded and desperate era that they're still in. I'd buy all the "Futurama" box-sets, but I don't even have time to watch the dvds I already own. sk

...but then again, it's *also* good that we won't have to see it degenerate into the soulless, corporate dreck that the post-1998 Simpsons has. I love the fact that I can now watch any episode of the series I want, with narry a bad ep in the bunch (and even the very few mediocre eps are redeemed by the frequently hilarious audio commentaries). Like Moriarty, there were numerous episodes on the last *two* Futurama sets that I had either never seen before, or only joined "already in progress", so watching these in the intended order really made them work even better. And yeah, the ending of "Jurassic Bark" *did* leave me slack-jawed with astonishment, yet at least Futurama had the guts to go for that kind of unabashed sentimentalism, wheras the current run of The Simpsons is too concerned with being "edgy" (read: cruel) to remember the humble sweetness of early eps like the one with Mr. Bergstrom ("You are Lisa Simpson" still makes me tear up). In a just world, Futurama would have run seven or eight seasons and retired while still at it's peak of creativty, but I can live with it's brilliant brevity. "ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNO-TOAD!"

I'm looking for an honest opinoin here. The only experience I've had with it is when I bought the first season, watched everything execpt for the final two episodes of that season, then traded it in for something else. Probably a video game. I just didn't get it. I didn't like Sydney's friends. Didn't like how nothing seemed to change in each episode. The pilot I thought set things up really well, but after that just coasted along. Tarantino's appearence was neat, and I found I enjoyed watching him act more than the other characters in that two parter. But just, the throbing techno (do a quiet heist for petesake!) and lyrical emotional buffer music got me down. Does the show get absolutely indispensible in its second and third seasons, or am I missing something? I mean Cronenberg gave his stamp of approval on it (embrace the new flesh, Sydney) so I feel I really should be on the bandwagon.

Probably where I stopped caring about the Simpsons was when Maude was killed off. Sure by then, the show had really gotten worse, but that was the first instance I can recall where the writers just had to do *something* to shake up the show and couldn't even handle it in a mature way. And jeez the endless Disco Stu references. The show is like a coked up star who never does anything consequential yet somehow still makes the tabloids.

I really enjoy your DVD columns, but I don't think I'm the only one who would appreciate some sort of warning about the nudity. A lot of us slackers read your site at work. Don't get me wrong: Chet Hudson loves him some boobies, but those screen caps were totally unnecessary. There are more than a few places on the Internet to see tits already.

That every single fucking one of these articles has Naomi Watts' adoring puss glaring upward at the words of EVERY SINGLE ONE of these "articles". Kind of an ego-boost for the fellas at AICN, I suppoe. A little incinteve.
"Oh, Moriarty, what brilliatn insight!"
Ah, fuck. I'd do the same thing if I had access to that banner ad.
Everyone stop posting and go see Sky Captain.
I endorse Vodka.

1) Alan Clarke's "The Firm" is truly fabulous. Gary Oldman is at his typical brilliant level. ("Scum" is good too, but "The Firm" kicks its ass.) and 2) "Jurassic Bark" is a great episode. Let's face it, in almost any other show, the dog would've been shown getting a chance for a happy new life due to Fry. But on Futurama, they dare to have the dog die! You might consider it too emotional, but you can't call it pandering or manipulative. I applaud it for daring to be emotional and for not making everything "okay" for the audience. Something more shows should think about doing.